Xeno's household

At court, Xeno has been doing work the player only partly sees through letters. He compares servants' ration books, listens to petitions diverted from the council, and asks why relief expenditure increases whenever actual deliveries decrease. He does not suddenly become an expert spy. He makes mistakes, trusts the wrong clerk, and initially believes presenting clear evidence to his father will be enough.

Edric reads the evidence and orders the implicated clerks detained. Xeno briefly believes he has succeeded. Then he learns that the prisoners include the people who helped him gather the records, while senior officials remain in office. The king explains that careless disclosure could shatter confidence in the treasury and provoke panic. Xeno realizes that being heard is not the same as being allowed to change anything.

His household is reduced. A proposed betrothal is accelerated to secure a major family's support. This is a political constraint, not a disposable romantic triangle: the proposed spouse is also being used and can cooperate in delaying the ceremony. Xeno refuses to sign a decree authorizing emergency confiscation from the marchlands. Saye announces that the prince has suffered exhaustion after Whitebridge and should rest away from official duties.

Xeno's decisive act is to send copies of the evidence to several institutions at once, including a religious archive, the port council, and Ciro's headquarters. He includes a signed account of his own earlier public assurances, accepting that he repeated falsehoods. The message asking Pyrrhus for help is therefore not simply a rescue request. Xeno has already acted, and he needs protection from the consequences.